Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday July 17 2018, @11:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-not-logan's-run dept.

People in the past were not all dead by 30. Ancient documents confirm this. In the 24th century BCE, the Egyptian Vizier Ptahhotep wrote verses about the disintegrations of old age. The ancient Greeks classed old age among the divine curses, and their tombstones attest to survival well past 80 years. Ancient artworks and figurines also depict elderly people: stooped, flabby, wrinkled.

This is not the only type of evidence, however. Studies on extant traditional people who live far away from modern medicines and markets, such as Tanzania's Hadza or Brazil's Xilixana Yanomami, have demonstrated that the most likely age at death is far higher than most people assume: it's about 70 years old. One study found that although there are differences in rates of death in various populations and periods, especially with regards to violence, there is a remarkable similarity between the mortality profiles of various traditional peoples.

High infant mortality and inaccuracy at the other end of the age range skew the numbers.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday July 18 2018, @04:20PM

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @04:20PM (#708854)

    You can either take the bible as truth or you can dismiss it.

    I really think a middle ground (probably strongly slanted to the skeptics' side) is a better use of the information. It is a long developed record of certain information that the holders of that information thought worthy to pass along, there's great insight into the human condition within the pages (for instance, try an online searchable bible and look for marriage - the two passages you hear at weddings are there, as well as about 50 others that describe misery, murder, and all sorts of unpleasantness associated with the institution...)

    Quoting scripture without careful introspection of what you are trying to say and why is a great way to set my BS filter to max, but if you can draw connections to real life it doesn't hurt as a starting point for understanding and confirmation that you're not just living in an anomaly.

    --
    🌻🌻 [google.com]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2